Little Brothers, Big Brothers
by Moonsetta
Summary: There's work to be done as the Turtles fix up their third lair. Don's not allowed to help, not while recovering from his mad mutation thanks to Bishop. As the memories flood back and guilt rises in his mind, his brothers are there. Brotherly fluff!


I wrote this during French class today. Ok, this is set after Don's successfully cured from his monstrous mutation. Curse you Bishop!

I don't own TMNT.

* * *

"Can I get up now?" Don asked his older brothers where he was seated on the far end of the room on an old couch.

"No!" Raph answered loudly where he was working across the room with a screwdriver in one hand, trying to fix a remote control for their new TVs.

Beside him, Leo turned off the blowtorch he was using and lifted up the shield covering from his face, "You just sit there and rest Don," he said and then turned back to cindering the metal of a cracked pipe back together.

"But I've rested for weeks!" Don protested.

"Yeah, and you're gonna rest longer!" Raph yelled over the sound of the blowtorch and then muttered, "And I thought I was a bad patient."

Don sighed and Leo turned off the blowtorch before turning towards his purple masked younger brother, "We just don't want to chance a relapse."

"Yeah!" Mikey cut in from where he was standing behind Don, "You tried to eat my leg!"

Leo and Raph's gaze automatically went to their tech loving little brother. Don's eyes dropped to the floor and his mouth fell into a frown. They both knew that look all too well. Since some time had passed the memories had slowly been coming back to Don of how he had acted during his mutation. One of the most clearest pictures was of course what Mikey had said. Don had tried to hurt them but the one scene wouldn't leave his mind. The older turtles immediately put down their tools and crossed the room to join Don on the couch.

"I'm sorry Mikey, I didn't-"

His voice fell away as his eyes snapped shut. Why wouldn't the image go away!? He would never hurt them! He couldn't have! It wasn't right!

The red and blue banded turtles glanced at one another and the silent conversation between them was enough.

Raph draped an arm over Don's shoulders and pulled him close, "Donny, you didn't know. You couldn't control it."

"There's no reason to blame yourself," Leo said, reaching out a hand to rest against his sad little brother's plastron.

Don forced his eyes to open and met the gazes of his older brothers. They immediately saw the unshed tears and shifted to wrap their little brother in a two way hug. They each knew how he felt. Leo and Raph had constantly fought and with Leo's conscious, he deemed every one of them was his fault to begin with. Raph of course felt similar guilt during their fights and he also carried another guilt for he had almost harmed Mikey greatly himself, he could still remember the pipe in his hand. They both understood that guilt, the guilt of harming your little brother.

"I'm sorry," Don murmured, leaning into Leo's and Raph's hug to draw what strength he could from them.

Sensing the strain in his immediate older brother's voice, Mikey walked around the couch and leaned down to face Don.

"Hey Donny?"

The purple clad turtle forced his eyes to open though a great sheer of will. He wanted to look away as the image filled his sight but he fought it back.

"Mikey's here and he's ok," he mentally chanted, "My little brother's ok."

"It's ok," Mikey said quietly and let a smile spread across his face, "I'm glad you're back home. You know? With us."

The tears spilled over slightly from Don's eyes and he reached up with his hand to hastily wipe them away. Then, the two beings on his sides let go. Don frowned as he opened his eyes and watched Leo and Raph get up and move away. He immediately felt the weakness returning. He grew confused as Mikey sat down next to him. Mikey, in turn, knew when his older brothers needed comforting and if they needed to hold their little brother, well he wasn't going to complain about all the attention. The orange masked turtle shifted forward, tucking his head under Don's chin and cuddling into him.

The youngest mustered up his special sugar sweet voice he saved for when he needed it and whispered, "I'm glad your home, big brother."

Don immediately, via his big brother instincts, wrapped his arms around his little brother and pulled him close, wanting to give comfort and to know that they were really all ok. Leo and Raph breathed sighs of relief. Ever since the memories had been returning to Don in his dreams, well nightmares, it had been quite difficult to try to calm him down. The older brothers shared a smile and went to the next room, which they hoped would soon be a kitchen and got back to working, knowing their youngest brother would be there to help Don. Often, they paused in their work to listen in on the younger turtles. They smiled every time the word, 'Big Brother' was said.

"It must be nice," Leo commented an hour later as he tossed away a rusted piece of metal from the wall.

"What?" Raph asked, trying to reach an old pipe stuck in the wall and coming to the ultimate conclusion that he wasn't tall enough to reach it.

Leo went to Raph's side and stretched up, successfully pulling the pipe from the wall and answering, "Having a big brother."

He handed the rusty and broken metal pipe to Raph and the red banded turtle tossed it aside to throw an arm over Leo's shoulders.

A wink and a smile, "Yeah, it's pretty cool."

* * *

Well, I was done with my work. What did you expect me to do? Writer bonjour 100 times?

Well, that's another one-shot.

~Moonsetta


End file.
